Stuart Pearce: Bargain buy Joe Hart's now priceless

We didn’t have much money at Manchester City, so he ­fitted the bill just nicely at £600,000.

Stuart Pearce

But just six years on and Pearce declared that the keeper is now priceless for England.

Keeper Hart, 24, aims to extend his unbeaten record for England to 17 games against Holland tonight.

He has won 12 and drawn four in an England shirt, conceding just 10 goals, and was described this month by Manchester United boss Sir Alex ­Ferguson as “easily” the best keeper this country has seen over the last two decades.

Fergie also revealed he missed out on buying Hart for just £100,000, prior to Pearce snapping him up from Shrewsbury.

In 2006 City was a far cry from the moneybags outfit of today and Pearce said: “He was an ­outstanding young talent at that age.

“We didn’t have much money at Manchester City, so he ­fitted the bill just nicely at £600,000. I couldn’t spend more than that for a ­back-up keeper at the time. We were on the limit.

“Joe’s fantastic. He’s developed brilliantly. His ­attitude is outstanding.

“He’s getting better and ­better. I don’t think he’s the finished article yet, but he’s got a great deal of experience.”

Hart has emerged as the serious rival to Steven Gerrard to be the new England skipper following the decision to take the armband away from John Terry.

However, he revealed he last captained a team at ­secondary school – when he was playing in central midfield.

“Of course, I’d like to be England captain,” he said. “Stuart’s always been my gaffer. He put great faith in me and I owe him a lot for that.”

It has been suggested ­having a keeper as captain is not practical but Hart points to Spain’s Iker Casillas as the perfect ­example.

“The last hands on the World Cup were in a pair of gloves,” he said.

“I’ve never worn the armband. I’ve always tried to take on a role of positivity in the ­dressing room and help as many people as I can, including the captain.”

Not surprisingly, Hart was happy to give his backing for caretaker boss Pearce to be given the job of taking ­England into Euro 2012.

And Pearce has also said he is happy to do that if ­England want to wait until after the summer to name ­Fabio ­Capello’s successor.

Hart added: “He has developed. Being ­involved for England is perfect for him and what he’s about.”